Rally in Canandaigua to explain school aid, costs

CANANDAIGUA — Laurie Riedman says school saved her. Now, she wants to make sure others will have the same opportunity.

Riedman is a member of the Love Your Schools advocacy group and an organizer of Wednesday’s eduACTION rally at the Canandaigua Academy auditorium. Aside from Love Your Schools’ involvement, the event is hosted by the Canandaigua City School District and Four County School Boards Association. It will feature a presentation by former Bloomfield teacher and long-time education advocate, Rick Timbs.

Timbs' presentation will aim to provide facts about funding formulas for area districts, unfunded mandates, tax cap formula and where money from school taxes goes, Riedman said.

"My high school guidance counselor helped me fill out college applications … I worked three jobs to fund college, and I was the first in my family to go," Riedman said. "I’m doing (the advocacy) for kids that were like me."

She added that it’s important for residents to know what is going on in their school district long before the May budget vote. She pointed to unfunded mandates as something that continues to increase the cost of education.

Timbs’ presentation will help highlight such problems, said Sharon Sweeney, of the Four County School Boards Association.

"Even if you disagree with (Timbs’) conclusions, no one can poke holes in his data," Sweeney said.

Timbs, who was a social studies teacher at the Bloomfield Central School District from 1970 to 1983, is now the executive director of the Statewide School Finance Consortium. He currently lives in Oneida County and often travels throughout the state for advocacy presentations. He spoke at Geneseo Central School in March.

Timbs and Riedman said a major issue affecting district budgets is the lack of state funding schools receive, particularly compared to the amount of mandates they are required to fulfill.

"It’s about taking the burden off local taxpayers," Timbs said. "The state hasn’t lived up to its share."

He added that the presentation will include information on the majority of Finger Lakes school districts.

While legislators were invited to attend Wednesday’s rally, some — including Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb — will be attending a Common Core standards forum at the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester.